3 Simple Ways To Reinvent Yourself At Work

We've all heard stories of the
miserable banker who decided to start fresh by opening her own
bakery or the sales rep who successfully moved over to the
marketing department. But, since your previous experience tends
to shape the opportunities available to you, how can you truly
reinvent your career?

Dan Schawbel, a personal branding expert
and New York Times bestselling author of “Promote Yourself,” says it’s actually possible to reinvent yourself
on a daily basis. “It's
an easier process than it has ever been because nowadays you can
control perceptions online and brand yourself based on your
current interest, not past hobbies, if you so choose.”

Based on what the market is paying, your strengths, and your
passions, you may need to adapt and reinvent yourself regularly
so that you remain fulfilled, happy, and relevant in your
professional life, he says. “Reinvention allows you to become
more valuable, while others are left with jobs that are becoming
obsolete.”

Here are three easy ways to reinvent yourself at work:

Choose a skill or topic to master, and let people know
about it. You can reinvent yourself by changing
your focus area, investing time to master it, and then letting
people know about your new skills and insights.

“You can master new skills by reading books, learning from
mentors, and by taking classes,” Schawbel says. Then,
you let people know about these
skills, not by bragging, but by actively seeking projects in the
company where you can display them through your
work.

Learn about new career paths by researching online and
asking people that you know. Once you find one
where you can leverage your skills, start positioning yourself
online using LinkedIn and other networks, so that people see your
interest and contact you with
opportunities.

“The online world is all about the law of attraction,” he says.
“How you present yourself on social networks and websites will
either attract or repel opportunities.” You always want to brand
yourself for the career you want, not the job you have. In order
to do that, you need to use keywords on your sites that reflect
the career you want to establish so that you become known as
someone who is focused on that area.

Start networking with people in other industries and
professions so that your reinvention transition is
smoother. This way, you will know people who are in the
career that you're interested in and can learn about what skills
they have that you require. “For instance, you can ask someone
you meet how they like their current career, how they broke into
the industry, and the skills they've developed at their job.
Then, you can aggressively develop those skills and leverage that
contact to secure a job.”

Outside of your day job is the perfect time to acquire these
skills and develop this network — and once you feel prepared, you
can leverage the network to secure jobs.

“While you're trying to establish yourself in a new area,
remember to keep focused on doing your current job well so that
you can get a good reference from your current employer should
you decide to pursue something else,” Schawbel
concludes.